Assistant Driving Mode in Google Maps is Shutting Down

Hey guys, Google is about to end another service that was sort-of a part of Google Assistant. I know, shocking.

Google Assistant Driving Mode from within Google Maps will go away in February. Oh, we’re in February! This feature will disappear this month, likely sooner than later. Although, with Google’s odd way of rolling out or taking things away, who knows precisely when it’ll disappear for you.

What is Google Assistant Driving Mode in Google Maps? I couldn’t tell you. I’ve never actually used it. It’s not the Driving Mode that was killed in 2022, but is instead a separate-ish Driving Mode that was a part of Google Maps. It allowed you to quickly access Assistant or a list of apps that were car-approved. It was a bit like a mix of the old Android Auto for phones and that dead Assistant Driving Mode dashboard.

Google hasn’t said why they are shutting this feature down, but after killing off a bunch of Google Assistant features in January, it sure looks like Google is cleaning up before they force Bard all over everything. Bard is about to power Google Assistant, we think, so stripping things down to just add them again later in some new “AI” form is probably the plan.

If you loved the Driving Mode in Google Maps because Google killed off all of the other ways to easily drive without having Android Auto in your car, then I’m sorry. Google must really want you to buy a new car, which is mean.

// Android Police